is a love story set in Hong Kong and Japan. A man, Stephen Mason, decides to investigate his 'submissive' side by writing masochistic fantasies in short story form, and acting them out with female partners. Like many 'controlled' investigations, it goes awry when he falls in love with one partner, a married Japanese woman. When she rejects him, Stephen is inconsolable and starts a bizarre second round of investigations. He is finally reunited with his Japanese mistress, but by then it is too late. is introduced and 'narrated' by a young female academic who has stumbled on Stephen's papers. These include ten self-contained short stories, which vividly depict his fantasies.